It wasn’t that easy. Despite her conviction that they were from different worlds and her resolve that they shouldn’t see each other again, when he showed up at school on Wednesday, looking all big and handsome and—dammit—a little sad, she went all soft and warm and shaky inside. She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he worked with the kids, and more than once their glances collided, then skittered away.
When most of the kids had left and Ryan as usual hung back to talk about hockey, Jason quietly said, “Here.” And he slipped Ryan an envelope. Remi frowned.
Ryan opened it and peered inside, then looked up at Jason open-mouthed. “Are these tickets to one of your games?”
“Yeah. There’s three. For your mom and your brother too.”
A huge smile broke out on Ryan’s face. “Holy…I mean, wow. Thank you! I can’t believe this! I’ve never been to a real, live hockey game!”
Jason grinned and Ryan dashed out, no doubt excited to get home and share the news.
Remi’s heart tilted and warmth curled inside her. She smiled, but shook her head as their eyes met, alone now in the classroom. “All the other kids are going to be upset that they didn’t get tickets.”
His eyebrows drew down. “Damn. I didn’t think of that. I just thought…he’s been doing so well and when he said they couldn’t afford to go to a game…” He shook his head. “Shit. Sometimes I don’t think things through.”
Her throat got a little tight.
“Remi.”
He walked toward her, then stood there, gazing at her.
“The paparazzi are really not that big a deal,” he said.
“It scared me,” she said. Although now that she’d had some time to digest it and put in perspective, it actually didn’t seem so bad.
He went to a crouch in front of her where she sat, frowning, and took her hands. “Scared you?”
“Yes.” She swallowed. “I’m just not used to that.”
“They wouldn’t hurt you.”
“Remember Princess Diana?”
His eyebrows flew up. “Jesus. I’m hardly in the same class as Princess Diana. They don’t chase me around like that.”
She blew out a breath. “I know.” She paused. “Once again, Jason, that just showed that I’m not the right kind of girl for you. I don’t live in that kind of world.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He stared at her. “That doesn’t matter. You’re smart and beautiful. I’m the one scared spitless of you. Your brains and education.”
Her heart tightened painfully. “What?” Was that true? She gazed back at him searchingly.
He dropped his gaze and shook his head. “Never mind.”
She touched her hand to his cheek, rough with beard stubble. “Oh, Jason.”
He looked at her hopefully. “So can we go out again?”
She surrendered to it. To the feelings swelling inside her, big and soft and warm. To him and his boyish charm.
“Saturday. We’ll go do something fun.” His mouth curved appealingly. “Just fun. Right?”
She sighed. “Okay.”
“Dress warm.” Jason had just arrived at her place Saturday afternoon for their date.
“Where are we going?”
“Navy Pier.”
“Navy Pier! I haven’t been there in years!”
“I’ve only been there once. It was fun.”
“Okay. Sounds crazy, but okay.”
“You should know by now, I am crazy. It’s all about fun, baby, right?”
She laughed. “Right. Let me go put on another sweater.”
She returned to her bedroom and exchanged the long-sleeved baby doll top she wore for a black turtleneck sweater. She eyed Jason when she returned to the living room. Instead of his usual leather jacket, he wore a ski jacket with a fleece lining, so she chose her black puffer jacket and looped a long black and gray scarf around her neck. She pushed aside her black high-heeled boots and pulled out her sheepskin-lined Ugg boots. Then she peered into her purse to make sure she had gloves.
“It’s going to be freezing there,” she warned him as she locked the door behind them.
“Bah. It’s April.”
“It’s fifty-seven degrees!”
“That’s balmy! Wait ‘til you come to Winnipeg in January.”
Like that was going to happen. Her heart beat a little faster. Intense curiosity to see where Jason had grown up flickered inside her.
They wandered around Navy Pier, surprisingly busy. It was a relatively mild April day. Probably lots of tourists were out. Jason bought her popcorn and they looked in the little shops at jewelry and souvenirs. Then he spotted the shop where you could build your own bear. “Hey,” he said, dragging her inside. “I want to build a bear for you.”
Okay, he was crazy. Laughing, Remi followed him into the store, full of little girls and their mothers. All eyes landed on Jason, big, tall, gorgeous and decidedly out of place. Warmth seeped through Remi and heated her cheeks, but she had to smile.
She selected a furry brown bear, then they had to record a message.
“Remi is ‘beary’ beautiful,” Jason said into the small device, looking at her. She laughed again. The recording was tucked inside. They stuffed the bear, fluffed the bear and then had to dress the bear.
“Oh, no question,” Jason said, surveying the choices. He reached for a tiny Chicago Wolves uniform. “Has to be this.”
Smiling, touched and charmed, Remi nodded. “Of course.” And her bear was dressed in the hockey uniform including a tiny stick.
She hugged the bear to her as Jason paid for it and they wandered back outside.
“I know,” Jason said. “We have to ride the Ferris wheel.”
It was late afternoon by this point.
Remi eyed the huge structure with its gazillion spokes and lights. “I don’t know…”
“Come on, Remi.” Once again he gripped her hand and tugged her along. She had to almost run to keep up with his long strides toward the Ferris wheel.
They had a gondola all to themselves. Remi gripped the side tightly, closing her eyes as they began to ascend, Navy Pier dropping away beneath them.
“Hey,” Jason said softly. “Open your eyes. The view is awesome.”
She pressed her lips together, her skin crawling, stomach jumping, but she opened her eyes.
“Are you afraid?” Jason asked, shifting closer to her.
“Um…yes. A little.”
He put his arm around her and tucked her close to him.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
She made a little choked noise. “Oh, no, not at all. We’re just…how far off the ground?”
“About a hundred and fifty feet, I think,” he said calmly, gazing around. “Look! Doesn’t the skyline look amazing?”
The sun was low in the sky and the buildings of downtown Chicago all gleamed like tall, slender, silver cubes and cylinders.
“Yes,” she said softly. “It is beautiful.” She snuggled into his warmth. The wind up here carried a crisp bite and her cheeks and nose began to sting a bit.
She looked at Jason, his handsome cheekbones reddened from the cold, eyes taking in the view, smiling. She clutched her bear in his Wolves uniform to her and suddenly her throat tightened. God, she liked this guy. So much.
He turned to look down at her, snuggled under his arm, and his smile deepened. “See? It’s fine.”
They swung over the top and began to descend and her tummy flipped over. “Mmm. Fine.”
He laughed. The yellow, red and blue canopy of the merry-go-round grew larger as they lowered, and then they were swinging back up again. She took in a deep breath.
“What’s that?” Jason pointed. She identified various landmarks to him and by the time they slowed and stopped, she’d almost forgotten she was nervous. At the very top, the gondola swaying gently, Jason tipped her chin up with one gloved hand and kissed her.